10 Productivity and Motivation Tips
This post is all about productivity tips and finding the motivation to get things done even when you really really just don’t feel like it. Let’s go crush our 2025 goals together!
If you’re struggling to find the motivation to get things done, you’re not alone. As much as I love blogging, my day job and working out, there are plenty of times when actually doing the work is the last thing I feel like doing. That’s the thing, motivation comes and goes, so you have to learn how to commit to achieving your goals whether or not you’re feeling motivated that day. Here’s how I get shit done even when I don’t feel like it.
10+ straightforward productivity and Motivation tips
1. Make a List
Make a list of the small, specific tasks you need to do. The more specific the better. Instead of “clean house,” write out each small task like load dishwasher, vacuum floors, fold and organize laundry, etc.
A to-do like “clean house” can seem overwhelming and intimidating to get started. By breaking down the larger task into simple steps, they become easier to cross off. And once you start crossing items off the to-do list, the more motivated you’ll become.
2. Try the Pomodoro Technique
Here’s how the Pomodoro technique works:
- Determine a task that needs to be accomplished.
- Set a time for 25 minutes.
- Work on the task until the timer goes off and make a mark on a sheet of paper to track this.
- Take a short break. 5 minutes is OK.
- Every 4 sets or “pomodoros” take a longer break, such as 10-15 minutes.
By breaking up your work, you allow yourself to get hyper-focused during those periods of work, but you don’t burn yourself out because you have regular breaks. This technique isn’t for everyone, but is worth giving a try!
I absolutely love using this visual analog timer to help myself break down tasks. And I feel super motivated to beat the clock! I will carry this around the apartment with me when cleaning or trying to focus on a single task. I find that I work even faster. I’m absolutely obsessed with this thing and it’s made a huge difference in my time management.
3. Make Things as Easy as Possible
As they say, “fail to plan and you’ll plan to fail.” Make your plans as easy to follow through with as possible. If you’re trying to eat healthy for lunch, be sure to grocery shop for healthy foods then prep them over the weekend. This way, you’ll have your healthy food ready to go every day and won’t be tempted to turn to something else.
If you’re a blogger, instead of sitting down to write without a plan, take the time to plan out your content calendar and outline your blog posts. That way when you’re not in the mood to write, half the work is already done for you.
4. Productivity Tip: Remember Your Why
Sometimes when getting to work is the last thing you feel like doing, you should remind yourself of the reason why you want to accomplish that task or goal.
When it comes to going to the gym, I remind myself that I want to feel confident in my swimsuit this summer and it helps me follow through with my workouts. This allows me to get past the short term annoyance and help build my long term productive habits.
5. Step Away from Social
Fight the urge to visit social media whatsoever. It’s way too easy to get sucked into a circle of going through each app on your phone. If this is a struggle for you when you’re trying to focus on a task, put your phone away completely.
I like to put my phone away in a drawer after work for a few hours so I can focus on chores, dinner and whatever else without distractions. Time spent away from TikTok is when I’m at my most motivated and productive.
6. Stop Waiting for Motivation and Just Do It
Like I said before, motivation is actually very fickle. When you really want to achieve something, you need to stop relying solely on motivation. Instead make your commitment a habit and just do it.
It’s certainly easier said than done, but once you fall into the positive habit and see the positive results it will be easier to stay committed to your goals.
So remember when you feel your motivation waning, realize the motivation doesn’t matter. You’re going to get shit done anyway because it’s about building those positive habits.
7. Don’t let perfect be the the enemy of good
Sometimes we let perfection get in the way of actually accomplishing things. Say you need to write a paper, just start getting the words on the page, then go back and edit. This way you can focus on producing versus getting caught up in the details. It’s less time spent on getting started and more time actually doing.
If you start the project getting caught up in the details like formatting, choosing fonts, grabbing every reference, etc. you’ll possibly get hung up on small things and lose the motivation to really cross the finish line. Instead commit to taking 10 minutes to write and just let it pour onto the page.
I do the same thing when I’m cleaning. I realize I may not have time to dust every corner, but what can I do with the greatest impact in the amount of time I have? This helps me to stay motivated.
8. Eat the frog
This is an oldie, but goodie. Eat the frog is the concept of doing the most important or daunting task for the day and you finish this one first. It helps you to prioritize what is most important.
And you’ll feel so accomplished when you finish your most important tasks first thing in the day. Get into the zone and just focus on the task at hand.
Oftentimes after finishing the big task, you’ll feel more motivated to check off the smaller to-do items on your list too.
9. Remember: Today’s not over yet
Have you made a mistake? Did you not accomplish as much as you wanted and it’s already 5pm? Don’t let this derail your day! Learn from setbacks and mistakes and just keep going.
Today’s not over yet! Any amount of time can make a different when it comes to your goals. So even if you spent the morning on the couch, you can take the evening to get things done.
When you keep this in mind, you’ll stop throwing days away because you didn’t start them how you wanted and build stronger habits in the long term.
10. It is easier to keep up than to catch up
This is one I like to remind my partner about. It’s so much easier to keep up with things than to try and do a big catch up. Small actions taken daily will have a bigger impact that teaches you positive habits than random, sporadic moments of productivity.
This holds true when it comes to keeping your home tidy, for health and fitness, for learning new skills and more. Spend time every day on the task and it will become part of your routine versus some “big, overwhelming thing” you need to do.
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Having a deadline works well for me.
Many times my crazy schedule demands that I do certain things RIGHT NOW because nobody else will take care of them, and I will have to deal with the consequences if I don’t do them, so GO!!!
Also promising myself a reward is nice. “When you’re done with X and Y you’ll get yourself a nice coffee break!”
If I have a lot of tasks I love setting mini deadlines. Accomplish x by x time and then give myself a reward too. Sounds like we think alike! 🙂
I’m sick in tired of being sick and tired. I am in my mid sixties. Worked like a dog to raise my kids, take care of my mother, grandmother and who ever else needed my help. My kids are University educated, great futures ahead of them. I have no parent or relationships other family. I am completely lost. I have been a RN for almost 47 years. The worst thing was having to retire. I have become unmotivated, unorganized and that’s not who I really am. Would appreciate any help you can give.
Sounds like you may miss being needed. Perhaps volunteering with something that interests you joining a church small group might offer you a new friend base and the opportunity to connect with others.
Hi! Altheia! I know how you feel! Here’s a few ideas for you to feel better !
1, Go to the homeless shelter and volunteer to watch children!
2, volunteer at the hospital where you used to work! The NICU sure could use a few more hands when taking care of the babies! And you could become a lactation nurse to help the new mommies learn to breastfeed their babies!
3, Help a single mom or dad with their kids. You know how busy you we’re when you had kids! Your church will know a few single parents who needs the help.
4, volunteer at a school to read to students in Kindergarten and teach them to read.
5, go volunteer in a school to be a school nurse. Here in SC we have 1 nurse working at 2 schools!?
Either way you win! You won’t be board, when you are free. And it will help you get motivated to do what you need to to feel better and help out others at the same time!
Have a great day! And God bless you!
Cheryl ?????
1st of all let’s look at what you wrote. #1 I’m sick #2 I’m sick and tired #3 worked like a dog #4 I am completely lost #5 I have become unmotivated #6 unorganized There you go now you can begin by redirecting what comes out of your mouth. Hope that helps.
My day planner has a wonderful quote: “Never say anything about yourself you don’t want to come true”-Brian Tracy
Also: “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he”.
I think we can all relate. Don’t beat yourself up too much. We’ve been going full steam for so many years, I think we are just worn out! I’ve been retired for six years, and am just now getting motivated to get things done. My motivation? I don’t want my children to have to clean out all my stuff that I’ve accumulated over 45 years. They have their own lives and children, and it would be a burden to leave it for them to do. I started getting boxes behind grocery stores and have been filling them up to donate. I feel like I’m finally on my way, for a change. Good Luck to you!
You sound like me. This is signs of depression. I have it and I’m bipolar as well. Sometimes WE don’t see it. It took my whole family to pointe out I was isolating, stopped going to my Dr. Stopped socializing and I also have 2 kids… thinking *(What now? What truly is my purpose in life…) talking to a therapist will help. Trust me I avoided it for 10 years thinking…NOPE not for me. Wast of money… but trust me it helps. Good luck.
In that same boat only I don’t get asked to go to family things and feel unwanted a lot. I have so much I am behind in that it has me paralyzed to even start. It is all overwhelming. I have asked if my children would help but I think they don’t take me serious because I have always been the one to handle things. Well, not anymore. I can’t handle life, work and the simple things. Depression is my condition but I don’t dwell on it other than to consider to check in to take time for just me. Fix what is broken. Hugs and prayers .
start doing things for YOU jump in and smell the roses make new connections with like minded peopleand learn new things
If you are actually sick, it’s different than being depressed or unmotivated. Give yourself some grace. I was in the hospital for 3 months last year and still working to get my strength and endurance back and I am unmotivated and extremely tired. I am overwhelmed by my own and a recently deceased loved ones belongings that I have not even been able to go through yet. One thing that helped me is that I met a lady online who just moved into her own place with her 2 kids and needed things for her place. When I met with her to give her some things, she said she cleans houses but didn’t have a car. I got together with her a couple of weekends and she brought her 10 and 13 year old kids to help me do something’s I had been putting off. It kept me accountable and helped her out by giving her some money and items she needed and I gave the kids some money too which was great for their self esteem and it was really rewarding for me too. If you have the app Nextdoor, it’s a great way to meet local people or ask for help from people who live near you. Every city has people in need and young people who will help with simple tasks for a lot less than a professional company. Although some jobs are best left to professionals and you have to be very patient with children.
I am also retired, but during my working years (and even when I was a teenager – I sewed. But now retired I do not have as much to sew since I made the clothes I wore to work. Now I sew “stuff” aprons, bowl cozies – stuff I just give away. But I still put off sewing at times. I cut something out and not sew it for a week or so. So I started giving myself a reward when I complete something – a coffee latte- a candy bar etc. I have even put stick on stars on my calendar LOL My local library has things to there. Authors speaking, silly bingo, zigsaw puzzle games. Check with your library, your church, other churches in your area. Check with local craft stores for classes on knitting, crochet, sewing.
Volunteer. I mafevmy self a list of places to volunteer. Some have worked out and some have not. Keep looking. I am also a retired RN (45 yrs on my feet). I ended up not liking volunteering at a SNF
I do like the monthly food prep day for the food pantry at a church in town. I am not a church member but I was also invited to join the knitting group. We do hats, scarfs and mittens which are donated to local underprivileged kids and to an Indian reservation in So Dakota. You will find a place to fit in. And when there is no one else who needs taking care of there is always yourself @
Wow, for a minute I thought I wrote this. You are just like me.
I’ve been a nurse for 49 years and left a job a year and a half ago and not ready to retire. Turned 70 this year. I applied for over 400 jobs for a year and a half and only had four interviews.
46 out of 49 years of nursing I have been in management. I hate not working and having no reason to get out of bed in the morning. This chapter of my life is not fun. I did sign up to volunteer at our church for our Lebanese food festival and the national convention of Maronite Catholis.
I also volunteer now in the ER at the hospital I helped open and worked 30 years. I feel like all my years of obtaining knowledge and experience will be a waste if I take it to my grave.
I want to give it back to an organization, but I can’t seem to land a job.
Like you, my kids are grown and successful.
My husband also does not like not working.
Right now, I’m trying to figure out how to get myself motivated and what do I want to do for the rest of my life.
Just know that there is someone out there just like you. God bless and I hope you find what makes you happy and healthy.
Cindi Nader RN
You lucky person! I am still in the middle of sandwich parenting and stressed! A suggesting for you could be volunteer work since you seem to be a loving person. There are many people out there that need care and will return love where they can. Good planning for best of your new transition!
Sounds like you need to perhaps have a bit of a breather to focus on yourself and work out who you are now that you are no longer a carer or provided or a RN. When so many or even just some things change in our life that we unconsciously tie our identity to for such a long time, it can be very hard tho be motivated to do things because you’re not sure what the purpose is to your daily life anymore. It’s actually more monumental of a shift in self awareness and consciousness than we ever were prepared for. For so long you have had clearly defined roles and purposes that you knew what you had to do and why you had to do it each day. Now you get to find your new goals and purposes based solely on what you want and it is very unfamiliar to you, and perhaps even scary, and sometimes people even go through a grieving like state because they have lost their identity.
There are so many things to take into consideration with the information I just gave you that you need to realise that it may take some time for you to work out the answers because you can’t remember the last time you did things simply based upon your own wants and needs. So take your time, fall in love with yourself again and try different things out until you find what fits you. Be kind to yourself . Best wishes.
I love writing things down and crossing it off, makes a huge difference when it is there visually! I love using that technique and I completely agree with the fact that a lot of people wait till they have the motivation to do something but in short we will probably never get to that point so we just have to suck it up and do it!
That concept really helps me with working out. I know it’s rare that I’ll wake up ready to go hit the gym, so if I make it a habit without even thinking about it, I can actually fill that goal. 🙂
I work the opposite from making a to do list. A list becomes a stressor for me. So I hang up a blank DONE list. As I do things I get to write them down. It’s a good feeling to see a long list at the end of the day of what I actually did accomplish.
Now, I do keep a weekly to-do list in my planner just to keep me on track but there is something to be said for this ‘done list’. It’s a visual reward or pat on the back for myself.
OMG that is a really great idea too! Sometimes I’ll add a few items to my list that are already completed so that I can go ahead and immediately scratch them off for that sense of accomplishment. 🙂
Yep I find the DONE list extremely rewarding too! When I feel really flat and depressed because I feel like I haven’t done anything and wasted a day, I write up the DONE list and then have the satisfaction of crossing it all off lol!
Depression gone instantly and feel really proud of my productivity!
I love this idea!
I have retained from hairstyling. I have lived by a clock for 50 years. Now is my chance to be happy with not Having to do any thing on time. I hate it. I find myself having to make myself even get started in the morning because there is nothing pressing me to do. I work better under pressure. What can I do to movatate myself.
My mom retired from nursing and felt the same struggle. Her other passion has always been crafts. So now we have a small craft biz together. Nothing time consuming or with deadlines. Just for fun. Do you have any hobbies? Or maybe you could volunteer once a week at a women’s shelter giving haircuts and support? Some of my best therapy sessions have been in my beautician’s chair.
I Love the part you said that we should stop waiting for motivation. Sometimes i get unmotivated but making things easier works best for me from what i’ve noticed!
Thanks for sharing,
Thank you! It’s definitely something I have to remind myself about. I know I won’t always jump out of bed ready to conquer the day (or a workout) so I have to remember to make it a habit and not just hope I “feel like it.”
First, I absolutely love the pin image! Made me realize i can be so more myself when posting (as i have one of the worlds worst potty mouths)
Second, great tips. Love the mention of not waiting for the motivation, its so true.
<3
Thank you so much, Tanisha!
Thank you for this!!!!!!
You are so welcome! <3
I like and use the idea of breaking down my tasks into smaller steps. It makes it so much easier to tackle the larger jobs. Loved your blog post. I will probably be back to reread it from time to time.
Thank you, Cheryl!
I “start in a corner” with the plan to “make an improvement”. I don’t feel compelled to get it perfect or finish everything but I usually end up doing more in the end. And it’s always an improvement so I’ve met my goal.
I just retired from teaching high / middle school. Reading these comments and suggestions make me feel somewhat prepared for this new journey. Thank you for these ideas. I have a feeling that these are ideas I will use.
You are so welcome! Happy to help.
Thank you so much for this!! Practicing to be a concert pianist from a age 4-23, then teaching music in schools, getting married at 40, caring for dad, mom til their death, death of eldest son–all in 3 years (2019-2021), teaching piano in my home & my husband just recently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s & Parkinson’s, I feel like an “empty shell” !! My husband is older than me ( I’ll be 66 on Thursday—same day my dad died 2019). I can barely move!! Your blog posting here will give me a bit at a time & hopefully complete tiny tasks!! Thank you sooo much ! 🩷
I totally need this right now. Thank you so much for the heads up
I retired due to a severe illness.. But, am getting back on track and finally getting my house back to where I Ike it. I do lack motivation at times but, the comment on don’t wait on motivation inspired me to get up and move to get thing done. Thank You
I really do appreciate someone who’s focus on what truly matters in life which is productivity that’s also linked with mental health wellness as well just write it do it check it off lets u lets u start clearing ur mind too ur the best thank you for your knowledgeable insight
I can so relate to the I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired. Several different medical problems. Probably the one that bothers my the most and has to do with my no motivation is no discs in lower back. Getting things done is a big challenge for me on any given day. Making a to do list makes me way to overwhelmed overwhelmed. Maybe I will try the done to do list! I dont have help with house or yard. I am disabled but not in a wheelchair yet.
Hello everyone!
What eclectic comments!
Firstly, a message to Beth… I’m so very sorry for your losses. ( I lost my Dad 2020 and my Mum 2021, I almost understand, but I have not lost a child).
Grief isn’t a visitor, it doesn’t come when we lose a loved one and then leave after a suitable amount of time. Grief is a permanent guest, it won’t go away. We will learn to accept grief, to live with it and eventually treat it as a part of ourself.
Everyday, since 11/2/2020 I have thought about my Wonderful Dad.
Everyday since 26/6/2021 I have thought about my Wonderful Dad and Mum.
I’ve had days when I can barely move due to grief. I can’t remember the last time I left my house on my own, but I try to continue to learn new things( mostly rubbish crafting things) I lack motivation, but will try out the” done” list.
Lots of love to you all💕
I’ve enjoyed reading all these comments. I struggle to even get out of bed each day and many days I don’t. I’m 66 and feel empty. I’m going to try the Done list and perhaps it’ll show me that I do accomplish some things. Sorry to hear that there are others who are in the same boat but it’s nice to know I’m not alone. One step one day at a time!
I opened this up on a Pinterest page and thought maybe this would help me get started. I retired from a career in education eight years ago! I had so much motivation and so many ideas and then the next thing I knew… it was this morning! I have spent years spinning my wheels, only to look around and find the same things piling up and being reminded of what I haven’t accomplished. I’m a big starter and a not so big finisher. The Done list has worked for every day chores, but big projects get pushed to the back burner and never really get going because I don’t have the energy after daily tasks . It is a little motivating though to know that I’m not alone, so maybe an online chat group with others experiencing the same thing would help all of us.??
Thank you so much for all the motivational tips. I love the idea of breaking down a chore into small chunks.
For those that are retired and bored and don’t know what to do with themselves, I am 64 and started a health and wellness business with a networking company and I love it. I have made so money and made so many friends through this industry working from home. If anyone is interested and wants to know more, please get in touch.
Thank you so much for all the motivational tips. I love the idea of breaking down a chore into small chunks.
For those that are retired and bored and don’t know what to do with themselves, I am 64 and started a health and wellness business with a networking company and I love it. I have met so many people and made so many friends through this industry working from home. If anyone is interested and wants to know more, please get in touch.
This is so what I needed. I’m a senior with developing executive function difficulties due to some dementia. I’ve lost sight of how to do things, these tips are a lifeline for me. Thank you